Section 64 fixes the punishment for the offence of rape defined in Section 63. Sub-section (1) sets the ordinary punishment: rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term of not less than ten years, extendable to imprisonment for life, and fine. Sub-section (2) sets a higher punishment — rigorous imprisonment for a term of not less than ten years, extendable to imprisonment for life meaning imprisonment for the remainder of the person's natural life, and fine — for rape committed in any of thirteen described aggravating circumstances, such as by a police officer, public servant, or armed forces member misusing custody or position, by a relative, guardian, teacher, or person in a position of trust or authority, during communal or sectarian violence, or repeatedly on the same woman.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 64 to old IPC Section 376, and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts. Section 64 is marked Substantively changed, with the same sourcing caveat flagged at Section 63 applying here as well:
| BNS 64 | Covers | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | Punishment for rape | S.376 (minimum sentence raised; aggravating categories expanded) | Substantively changed |
Same sourcing flag as Section 63: this project's local copy of old IPC Section 376 is the original 1860-era text and does not reflect the later legislative broadening of this offence that Parliament enacted by amendment before the Sanhita's 2023 enactment, so a full, precise comparison against the true immediately-prior IPC text is not possible from local sources alone. Comparing the bare text directly against this local copy, we can verify the following specific differences: the base minimum sentence under sub-section (1) is raised from seven years to ten years, and is now expressly "rigorous" imprisonment; the local IPC text's own carve-out for a man's own wife (with a lower sentence where she is not under twelve) is not repeated in BNS 64(1), consistent with the marital exception now being handled at the definitional stage in Section 63, Exception 2; and a proviso in the local IPC text allowing the court, for adequate and special reasons to be recorded, to impose a sentence below the stated minimum, is not carried over into BNS 64. The list of aggravating circumstances in sub-section (2) is also substantially longer than the seven categories in the local IPC text (which covered police officers, public servants, custodial and institutional staff, hospital staff, a pregnant victim, a victim under twelve, and gang rape); BNS 64(2) instead lists thirteen categories, adding armed forces personnel deployed by government, relatives, guardians, teachers, or persons in a position of trust or authority, rape during communal or sectarian violence, rape on a woman incapable of giving consent generally, rape by a person in a position of control or dominance, rape on a woman with a mental or physical disability, rape causing grievous bodily harm or endangering life, and repeated rape on the same woman. Gang rape itself is not included in BNS 64(2) at all; the concordance shows it is instead addressed in a separate, dedicated section (Section 70), corresponding to old IPC Sections 376D, 376DA, and 376DB, which this project will verify when that section is reached.
(1) Whoever, except in the cases provided for in sub-section (2), commits rape, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) Whoever—
(a) being a police officer, commits rape—
(i) within the limits of the police station to which such police officer is appointed; or
(ii) in the premises of any station house; or
(iii) on a woman in such police officer's custody or in the custody of a police officer subordinate to such police officer; or
(b) being a public servant, commits rape on a woman in such public servant's custody or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to such public servant; or
(c) being a member of the armed forces deployed in an area by the Central Government or a State Government commits rape in such area; or
(d) being on the management or on the staff of a jail, remand home or other place of custody established by or under any law for the time being in force or of a women's or children's institution, commits rape on any inmate of such jail, remand home, place or institution; or
(e) being on the management or on the staff of a hospital, commits rape on a woman in that hospital; or
(f) being a relative, guardian or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman, commits rape on such woman; or
(g) commits rape during communal or sectarian violence; or
(h) commits rape on a woman knowing her to be pregnant; or
(i) commits rape, on a woman incapable of giving consent; or
(j) being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman; or
(k) commits rape on a woman suffering from mental or physical disability; or
(l) while committing rape causes grievous bodily harm or maims or disfigures or endangers the life of a woman; or
(m) commits rape repeatedly on the same woman,
shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section,—
(a) “armed forces” means the naval, army and air forces and includes any member of the Armed Forces constituted under any law for the time being in force, including the paramilitary forces and any auxiliary forces that are under the control of the Central Government or the State Government;
(b) “hospital” means the precincts of the hospital and includes the precincts of any institution for the reception and treatment of persons during convalescence or of persons requiring medical attention or rehabilitation;
(c) “police officer” shall have the same meaning as assigned to the expression “police” under the Police Act, 1861;
(d) “women's or children's institution” means an institution, whether called an orphanage or a home for neglected women or children or a widow's home or an institution called by any other name, which is established and maintained for the reception and care of women or children.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Sub-section (1) sets the baseline punishment that applies to rape as defined in Section 63, unless the case falls into one of the thirteen aggravating circumstances described in sub-section (2). The minimum term is ten years' rigorous imprisonment, which may extend all the way to imprisonment for life, together with a mandatory fine.
Sub-section (2) sets a higher minimum for rape committed in any of thirteen described circumstances, most of which involve the offender misusing a position of official authority, professional trust, family relationship, or physical or social dominance over the victim, or committing the offence in a way that causes additional serious harm or that repeats over time. Although the minimum term (ten years) is numerically the same as sub-section (1), the upper end of the sentencing range differs meaningfully: "imprisonment for life" under sub-section (2) is expressly defined to mean imprisonment for the remainder of the convicted person's natural life, a more severe reading than the ordinary meaning of a life sentence under sub-section (1). The Explanation then defines four terms used across these categories — "armed forces," "hospital," "police officer," and "women's or children's institution" — so that each aggravating category can be applied with a fixed, certain meaning.
Ten years' rigorous imprisonment under either sub-section, extendable to imprisonment for life, along with a mandatory fine.
Under sub-section (2), "imprisonment for life" is expressly defined to mean imprisonment for the remainder of the convicted person's natural life, which is a stricter reading than the term ordinarily carries under sub-section (1).
No. Gang rape is defined and punished separately in Section 70; it is not one of the thirteen circumstances listed in Section 64(2).